A third of UK adults are or want to become entrepreneurs

Research finds one in three adults own or plan to start their own business, with a desire to be their own boss and a dislike of working for others cited as the most common motivations

A third of UK adults are or want to become entrepreneurs

Running a business can be a big responsibility but the UK isn’t shrinking from the challenge, with increasing numbers being drawn away from the rat race to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams. According to research from Groupon, more than one-third of adults either run their own business or intend to start one.

Produced in conjunction with Climb Online, the digital agency founded by Mark Wright, the 2014 winner of The Apprentice, Groupon’s research found that many workers are now choosing to go it alone; it revealed 37% adults currently own or are looking to launch their own business. Those aged 16- to 24-years-old are apparently the most eager to forge their own path, with one in ten saying their ultimate goal was to set up their own business, compared to the national average of 5%.

According to the research, 53% said they wanted to start their own business because they would rather be their own boss, whilst 60% didn’t want to work for someone else. Additionally, 40% of respondents said they think it will offer greater flexibility in terms of hours, 26% said they want more control over how the business is run and 11% said they’d been inspired by friends and family who had set up their own businesses.

And it seems this is changing the way young people are viewing education. Over two-fifths of 16- to 24-year-olds said further education was not worth the financial investment for those with a business career in mind. Meanwhile, 12% of those who had started or planned to start a business said launching a startup was a good alternative to further education and 16% said they’d rather be earning than sinking loads of money into tuition fees. It also seems that this isn’t a generational issue: nearly half of adults who were in the process of setting up their own business agreed that higher education was not worth the investment.

Perhaps part of the reason for this is that many people believe they have skills that they can monetise and utilise to build a thriving business; the research revealed that 20% of UK adults are making money from a hobby or skill and another 23% plan to do so. Amongst 16- to 24-year-olds this idea was even more popular, with 30% gaining a profit from their hobby or skill and 53% wishing to do so.

Clearly then, with such a high proportion of people looking to start up on their own, the UK has a bright entrepreneurial future ahead of it. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jess Mackinnon
Jess Mackinnon
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